Post navigation

The Same Old Gamer Biases, Next Generation

Friday, the Little Jedi started summer camp. Saturday at dinner, she says “Bob1 says that I can’t play Minecraft because I’m a girl.”

As we asked for more details, we learned that Bob, like Little Jedi, is six years old. And he thinks that girls can’t play video games.

What the everlovin fuck? (Momrage!)

The Little Jedi, mind you, has been playing Minecraft for months and, now that she can read, needs virtually no help. She’s been playing video games since she was old enough to hold a controller, and started playing more complex PC games at age 4 (particularly the lego series).

We started reminding her of all the games she’s played in the past, and how she was able to handle them, and that made her feel better. Uncharitably, I also told her that Bob is a moron.

Why should a six-year old boy already have these prejudices? I expect it from the old school, but not from the next generation. Maybe their dads are passing down bad habits and outdated opinions.

Why should we need to cheer her up by cataloging her geek girl cred? She will probably recite her achievements to Bob, next time he bothers her, to shut him up, but she shouldn’t have to. When she says “I play minecraft,” the response should be “yeah, cool.”

There’s no doubt she will still have an easier time of it than we did. She does have friends who are boys with whom she chats video gaming, and they don’t question or sneer. However, these insidious relics of opinions are still present.

Now to cheer everyone up after that… not-so-heartwarming tale, I present a creeper on a wrecking ball. It’s our favorite.

I totally understand the spiderman AND Sofia thing. I came home one day and Batman and Barbie were having a tea party. The Teen Titans are living in Hello Kitty’s lego clubhouse. And minecraft involves just as much decorating as building. That’s totally ok. I really hate the idea that a little girl must be a “tomboy” and eschew all traditionally “female” things entirely to enjoy superheroes.

Sadly, I’m not at all surprised. I mean, I’m a grown-up woman and I can still see people talk about how women don’t play video games if I click enough links on the internet. All you can do is keep fighting the good fight for the next generation.

I’m a 26-year-old male, so I’m not part of the newest generation, but my sister (24 now) and I grew up gaming together so I never understand this viewpoint. These days she’s got more playtime in Skyrim than I do.

It’s very strange to me that a contingent of guys who always complain about girls not talking to them instantly attack any who have the same interests.

I’m always amused when people say girls don’t play games. My late wife would have been 67 this year. She and I met because of our love of the old single-player Ultima games. Some foolish people need to learn that embracing the opposite gender in our little hobby can have positive, life changing benefits. ^_^

When The Clone Wars came to Cartoon Network, my oldest was in Fourth Grade. The kids at school were agog at the stories, and she naturally chimed in. She was told by several of the boys that since she was a girl, she wasn’t allowed to like Star Wars. She stood up for herself, but it was only after a few other boys spoke up in her defense that the problem boys relented and allowed her to join their SW discussions.

I find this all the more ironic since she’s pretty much a walking Star Wars encyclopedia, and she ended up being the judge whenever two kids at school had a disagreement over SW lore.

But I find this sort of thing, that girls can’t be geeks, all the more annoying because when I was my kids’ age, I would have loved to have had anybody –anybody!– to discuss geeky stuff like Star Wars, Star Trek, D&D, and other SF&F things with. And when I got to high school, it was like a page out of Revenge of the Nerds in terms of the isolation I felt. But I simply don’t get how some guys (and boys) can treat women so badly for being geeks. I mean, isn’t this what you wanted, to have a geeky girlfriend who loved the same stuff you did?

This site is in not endorsed by or affiliated with LucasArts, LucasFilm, BioWare, Electronic Arts, Disney, J.J. Abrams, or anyone else who happens to own something having to do with Star Wars. Trademarks are the property of their respective owners.